Oct 10, 2015
769,208

Here is our giant Kona 2015 race day gallery. Like always, Kona proved to be quite surprising for many. Last year's 2nd place female became this year's champion. Last year's male champion lost it on the run and dropped from 3rd to 8th place. Last year's female champion dropped out of the race before the 1/2 way mark. Andy Potts found himself in 4th place like last year, and Rachel Joyce collected another 2nd place finish. It was a great day of racing, and you can see over 300 pictures from the day in our gallery.

1st Place Male: #002 - Jan Frodeno&nbsp

Huge congrats to Jan Frodeno, the man of the day, and our new Ironman World Champion. He was this year's 70.3 world champion, last year's 3rd place at Kona, and a favorite going into the race. He swam with the leaders (Andy Potts and Dylan McNeice) all the way to end, but finished second behind Dylan McNeice with a time of 50:50. This was slightly faster than his swim time from 2014 of 50:56. Frodeno raced out of transition, and quickly took the lead on the bike. He rode the new Canyon Speedmax that we featured earlier this week. He used the SRAM Red eTap groupset and Zipp wheels. At 76 miles, he was 1 minute behind the leader. When Tim O'Donnell slowed unexpectedly at mile 85, Frodeno had an opportunity to regain the lead, which he did at mile 95. He finished the bike in 1st place with a ride time of 4:27:27. This was much better than his 4:37:19 last year when he had flat tire troubles. He started the run in 1st, and quickly began to extend his lead running a sub 5:30 pace. The first 3-ish miles he did in 17:20. At just under 7 miles, he began to slow down, but was still running 15sec/mile faster than O'Donnell and Kienle. At the 9 mile mark, Frodeno had a 2 min lead over O'Donnell, and 4 mintures over Kienle. With 10k to go, he was in first with a 3 minute lead. Frodeno finished the run in 2:52:21 (3rd fastest run), with a total time of 8:14:40. He has now completed the triple-crown of triathlon wins with his Olympic gold title in Beijing, the 2015 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, and now an IRONMAN World Championship!. This should secure his place in triathlon history.

2nd Place Male: #035 - Andreas Raelert&nbsp

Andreas started the day with a 52:24 swim, which made him the 11th male pro out of the water. This was slightly slower than his 51:27 last year. He rode on the new Cube C:68, Swiss Side wheels, and Shimano Di2 group set. He finished the bike in 11th as well, 5:04 off the lead, with a split of 4:30:52 (about 6 min faster than last year). He then began an INCREDIBLE run. By mile 3 of the run, he was up to 9th. By mile 5, he was up to 8th. By mile 7, he was up to 7th place. By mile 12, he passed last year's champ Kienle for 3rd place! At the energy lab's farthest turnaround (17.75mi), he was in 3rd place, 3:35 off the lead, and just under 3 minutes ahead of 4th place Kienle. At about 23 miles, he passed Tim O'Donnell for 2nd place. He finished in 2nd place after a 2:50:02 run (2nd fastest of the day), and 8:17:43 total time (3:03 off the lead). Amazing run!

3rd Place Male: #021 - Timothy O'Donnell&nbsp

In 2013, Tim O'Donnell finshed Kona 5th, and was the top American. For 2014, we thought he would continue to climb the podium, but he had a bad race and finished as the 32nd pro (104th overall). This was due to abdominal issues. He is usually a top contender for best American, and appears to just have had a bad day that year. This year, he swam a 52:24, which made him the 10th pro male out of the water. This year, he is riding a custom painted Trek Speed Concept with matching clothing, Bontrager Aeolus wheels (7 in the front, 9 in the rear), and Shimano Di2 group set. He was in the lead group until around Hawi, and then he attacked really hard. By the 76 mile mark, he had opened up a 48 second lead. After 80+ miles, he had increased it to over a minute. But at around 85 miles, he suddenly slowed down and began talking with officials, possibly asking for neutral race support. His lead at that point had dropped from over a minute to 22 seconds, and then he was passed for the lead by Jan Frodeno at 95 miles. He was able to finish the bike in 2nd place with a ride time of 4:26:13 (3rd fastet), 30 seconds behind Jan Frodeno. By mile 6 of the run, O'Donnell was 1:57 behind Jan Frodeno. By mile 9, he was 2 minutes back. He then found some speed, and at mile 12.5, he was 1:30 back. At about 23 miles into the run, he was passed by Andreas Raelert. He took third place after a 2:55:46 run (6th fastest), and 8:18:50 total time (4:10 off the lead). This made him the top American, and was by far his best peformance in Kona.

1st Place Female: #102 - Daniela Ryf&nbsp

Daniela Ryf has been on fire lately. She became the first woman to win back to back 70.3 world championships, and finished over 11 min ahead of the runner up this year. She has been training very hard, and was expected to dominate today. She swam quite well, finishing in 56:14 making her the 8th female out of the water. This was faster than her swim time last year of 56:55. She rode a Felt IA similar to what she rode last year when she finished 2nd, Hed wheels, and Shimano Di2 group set. By mile 5 of the bike, she had taken the lead, and stayed near the front, if not in the lead all day. By mile 76, she lead by over 1 minute, and by mile 88, she lead by over 3 minutes. With 1km to go, she had a flat tire, and had to coast in to T2. Ryf, however, still came off the bike in first place with a fastest bike split of 4:50:46, and not having to worry about Carfrae who had dropped out of the race. For the first 3 miles, she ran a 6:26/mile pace, compared to Swallow's 6:46/mile. By mile 6, she was 9 minutes ahead. By mile 10, her lead was up to 12:22 over 2nd place Rachel Joyce. She ran a 3:06:37, and was crowned champion with a total time of 8:57:57, just breaking 9 hours. Congrats!

2nd Place Female: #105 - Rachel Joyce&nbsp

Joyce has been very consistent at Kona, with a 2nd in 2013, and a 3rd last year. She just can't seem to ever break 2nd place. This year, she switched coaches from Dave Scott to Julie Dibens. Today, she swam a 56:11 to come out of the water in 4th place. She rode a Cervelo P5 with Enve wheels, and an xlab bento box. She came off the bike in 7th, after a 5:01:29 bike ride. At mile 10 of the run, she was in 2nd place 12:22 behind Daniela Ryf, and 9 seconds ahead of 3rd place Jodie Swallow. With 5k left on the run she was in 2nd place. She finished the run in 3:08:42, with an overall time of 9:10:59, and another 2nd place.

3rd Place Female: #115 - Liz Blatchford&nbsp

Liz Blatchford had a great ITU Olympic distance career, and has been doing well at the longer distances ever since here 2013 win at Ironman Cairns, and 3rd at Kona that year. Today, she swam a 56:13 to come out of the water in 7th place. She rode a BMC Time Machine TM01 with Dura-Ace wheels (C50 front, C75 rear), and came off the bike in 9th, with a bike split of 5:07:25. She ran a 3:06:25, for an overall time of 9:14:52, and a 3rd place finish.

#001 - Sebastian Kienle&nbsp

Last year's champion Sebastian Kienle was a pre-race favorite, and he surprised everyone with an amazing 52:36 swim (last year he swam 54:38). This made him the 29th male out of the water, and was enough to keep him in the first group, just 1:51 back from the leader. For the bike, he rode the Scott Plasma 5 just as he did last year, with Zipp 808s, and SRAM's RED eTap group set. By about 21 miles, Kienle was in first place, but the leaders stayed close together for much of the day. By mile 44, there were over 20 guys within 20 seconds of the lead. After Hawi, Tim O'Donnell made a big attack, and by about mile 76 he had opened up a 45 second lead over Kienle. Sebi, however, just kept riding his race, and by 102 miles, he was back in the lead. He ultimately finished the bike in 3rd place, 55 seconds behind Jan Frodeno, but had the 2nd fastest bike split of the day at 4:25:53. This was slightly slower than his 4:20:46 bike split last year. By mile 7 of the run, he was almost 3:30 behind Frodeno. At mile 9, he was 4 minutes back. At the 1/2 way point, he was passed by Andreas Raelert, and dropped to 4th. At the energy lab's farthest turnaround (17.75mi), he was in 4th, 6:25 back from the leader, with Andy Potts closing fast less than 1 minute back. Potts passed Kienle in the energy lab, and Kienle had dropped to 7th by mile 23. Sebi finished the run in a disappointing 3:06:08, and had a total time of 8:29:43 (15:03 from the lead), which got him 8th place. I am sure he was not happy with this after starting the run in 3rd place.

#003 - Frederik Van Lierde&nbsp

The 2013 world champion finished 8th last year, and many were curious to see how he would do this year. Recently he won IM South Africa with an incredible 14:10 margin over Ivan Rana, which left many hopeful for him today. His race started with a 52:28 swim, which was slower than his 51:03 last year, and his 51:02 the year before. This year, Van Lierde is riding a Cervelo P5 with Mavic wheels, similar to what he rode in years past. By the 43 mile mark, Van Lierde had caught up with the leaders, and was just 5 seconds back. Van Lierde finished the bike in 5th place, 1:59 off the lead, with a bike split of 4:27:18 (5th fastest split). His bike data showed a normalized power of 301 watts, and an average cadence of 92 RPM. By mile 3 of the run, he had moved up to 4th place, but then dropped back to 5th at mile 7. He finished the run in 3:39:03, which gave him an overall time of 9:03:25, and 25th place among pro men (31st overall).

#004 - Ben Hoffman&nbsp

Ben Hoffman had anamzing race last year, taking 2nd place, and 1st American. This also made him a favorite going into this year's race. His day started out with a 52:29 swim in the main chase group. This was slightly slower than last year when he swam a 51:20, but still put him in great position for the bike. Ben is riding a Specialized Shiv similar to what he rode last year, Knight wheels, Shimano Di2 group set, and our Omega X brakes. Helmet is a Specialized Evade. By around 46 miles, Ben briefly took the lead, but wasn't able to hold it. He remained with the main chase group hunting down Tim O'Donnell. The Hoff finished the bike in 7th place, 3:05 off the lead. At mile 7, he had moved up to 6th place. At around mile 13th, he started walking, and dropped out of the top 10. He ultimately finished with a sad 3:39:33 run, and a total time of 9:05:22 for 27th male pro, 28th overall (behind Daniela Ryf).

#005 - Andy Potts&nbsp

Andy Potts took 4th last year, which was his best performance at Kona. This year, he has been training hard, hoping to climb atop the podium. Potts is known as a top swimmer, and most expected him to be first out of the water. He stuck with the lead group of Dylan McNeice and Jan Frodeno until the pier, and ultimately came out of the water 3rd with a time of 50:56. Potts is riding a Kestrel 4000, similar to what he has ridden for the last several years, and equipped with our Omega X brakes. Wheels are Shimano Dura-Ace C75s, and group set is Shimano Di2. Helmet is a Rudy Project Wing 57. Potts had a good day on the bike. At 88 miles in, he was still within around 1 minute of the lead. By 105 miles, his gap to the leader had extended to 3 minutes. Potts finished the bike in 12th place, 5:12 off the lead. By mile 3 of the run, he had moved up to 10th. At the energy lab's farthest turnaround (17.75mi), he had moved into 5th place, 7:23 off the lead, and less than 1 minute behind 4th placed Kienle. He then passed Kienle before leaving the energy lab. He took 4th place (2nd American) after a 2:53:45 run (5th fastest), and 8:21:25 total time (6:45 off the lead). He finished 4th last year as well, and was also the 2nd American that year.

#006 - Nils Frommhold&nbsp

Nils had a great swim, coming out of the water 4th with a time of 52:23. Thing did not go as smoothly on the bike. He suffered a flat early in the race. He managed managed to come off the bike 23rd, with a time of 4:42:06. He rode the new Canyon Speedmax that we featured earlier this week, with a Shimano Di2 group set. He then ran a 3:37:08 to finish in 9:16:44, as the 29th pro male, 55th overall.

#007 - Timothy Van Berkel&nbsp

Swam a 52:33 to come out of the water in 21st place. Came off the bike in 18th, after a 4:35:34 bike ride. Ran a 4:25:09, and finished in 9:58:18. 36th pro male, 304th overall.

#008 - Bart Aernouts&nbsp

Swam a 57:19 to come out of the water in 47th place. Came off the bike in 22nd, after a 4:37:01 bike ride. Dropped out after 10 miles of the run.

#009 - Lionel Sanders&nbsp

Swam a 1:01:10 to come out of the water in 52nd place. Came off the bike in 26th, after a 4:35:17 bike ride. Ran a 2:54:41, and finished 8:36:26. 14th place.

#010 - Ronnie Schildknecht&nbsp

Swam a 57:21 to come out of the water in 48th place. Came off the bike in 32nd, after a 4:43:55 bike ride. Dropped out after the bike.

#014 - Marino Vanhoenacker&nbsp

Swam a 56:41 to come out of the water in 37th place. Finished the bike in 14th, 5:57 off the lead, with a bike split of 4:27:26. By mile 5 of the run, he was up to 12th place. Ran a 4:31:02, finishing in 9:55:19. 34th pro male, 353rd overall.

#016 - Cyril Viennot&nbsp

Swam a 52:35 to come out of the water in 26th place. Came off the bike in 16th, after a 4:34:27 bike ride. He ran a 2:53:06 (4th fastest run) and finished 6th with an overall time of 8:25:05. I believe this is the highest finish for a frenchman.

#017 - Tim Don&nbsp

Tim Don was a bit of an unknown this year. He has been doing very well at the half iron distance, but this is his first time racing Kona, and he hasn't done many full distance races. His first full Ironman was the 2014 IM Mallorca, which he won. He is a fast swimmer, biker, and runner, and was forecast to be a real threat this year. His day started off well. He swam with the leaders to almost the half way mark, and then lead the chase group for a while. He finished the swim in 52:23 as the 7th pro male. Tim is riding a Specialized Shiv with our Omega X brakes, Enve wheels, and Shimano Di2 group set. Helmet is a Specialized S-Works TT. By the 43 mile mark of the bike, he was 13 seconds off the lead. Unfortunately, Tim recieved a 5 minute drafting penatly about 2/3 of the way through the race. He still managed to finish the bike in 21st, with a split of 4:38:36. Tim finished the day with a 3:01:51 run, for a total time of 8:39:05 and 15th place.

#019 - Matt Trautman&nbsp

Swam a 56:55 to come out of the water in 40th place. Came off the bike in 27th, after a 4:40:26 bike ride. He dropped out of the run after 7 miles.

#020 - Bas Diederen&nbsp

Swam a 52:31 to come out of the water in 21st place. Came off the bike in 46th, after a 5:07:31 bike ride. He dropped out of the run after 10 miles.

#022 - Romain Guillaume&nbsp

Finished the swim 6th with a time of 52:25. Finished the bike in 13th, 5:18 off the lead, with a split of 4:31:12. He then ran a 3:18:19 to finish in 8:46:56, and 19th place.

#024 - Ivan Rana&nbsp

Ivan finished in 12th place, 8:34:27 total time.

#025 - Guilherme Manocchio&nbsp

Finished as 26th pro male, 34th overall.

#026 - Joe Skipper&nbsp

Joe finished in 13th place, 8:36:02 total time.

#027 - Michael Weiss&nbsp

Michael finished in 16th place, 8:44:30 total time.

#028 - Eneko Llanos&nbsp

Eneko Llanos was questionable for the race. He wrote about a mouth infection that was killing him back in October. Today, he finished the bike in 4th, 1:39 off the lead, with a bike split of 4:26:56 (4th fastest). At mile 5 of the run, he had dropped to 6th place, but then regained 4th place at mile 7. At the energy lab's farthest turnaround (17.75mi), he had dropped back to 7th, 10:10 off the lead. He finished the run in 3:04:10 (9th fastest), which got him 7th place with a total time of 8:28:10 (13:30 back from the lead).

#029 - Tyler Butterfield&nbsp

Finished the bike in 9th, 4:01 off the lead. By mile 3 of the run, he had moved up to 8th, but at mile 5, he had slipped back into 9th. Then at mile 7, he regained 8th place. At the energy lab's farthest turnaround (17.75mi), he was up to 6th place. He finished out the top 5 with a 2:56:19 run (7th fastest), and 8:23:09 total time (8:29 off the lead).

#030 - Clemente Alonso-Mckernan&nbsp

Dopped out after the bike.

#031 - Callum Millward&nbsp

Dropped out after 10 miles of the run.

#032 - Brad Kahlefeldt&nbsp

Dropped out after 7 miles of the run.

#034 - Andi Boecherer&nbsp

Finished the bike in 8th, 3:35 off the lead. Total time was 8:49:20, for 20th place.

#036 - Luke McKenzie&nbsp

Dropped out after 109 miles on the bike.

#037 - Boris Stein&nbsp

Swam a 57:27 to come out of the water in 49th place. Came off the bike in 19th, after a 4:30:48 bike ride. He ran a 2:58:49 (8th fastest), and finished in 10th place with a total time of 8:31:43 (17:03 back from the lead).

#038 - Dylan McNeice&nbsp

Was first out of the water with a swim time of 50:45, just edging out Jan Frodeno and Andy Potts. He then dropped back on the bike. Finished in 9:58:17 for 35th pro male, 303rd place overall.

#039 - Fredrik Croneborg&nbsp

Finished in 8:58:46, 24th pro male, 27th overall.

#040 - Igor Amorelli&nbsp

Finished in 9:34:17, 33rd pro male, 126th overall.

#041 - Denis Chevrot&nbsp

Dropped out after 31 miles on the bike.

#042 - Jordan Rapp&nbsp

Jordan swam a 57:00, biked a 4:39:22, ran a 3:08:35, and finished in 8:50:21 for 21st place. He rode a Dimond with Maugra brakes. His bike data for the day showed a normalized power of 279 watts, and an average cadence of 70rpm.

#043 - Christian Kramer&nbsp

Finished in 9:40:44, 34th pro male, 169th overall.

#044 - Paul Ambrose&nbsp

Dropped out after 88 miles on the bike.

#045 - Pedro Gomes&nbsp

Finished in 8:46:14, 18th place.

#048 - Kyle Buckingham&nbsp

Finished in 9:26:16, 30th pro male, 81st overall.

#049 - Jan Van Berkel&nbsp

Finished in 9:27:59, 32nd pro male, 95th overall.

#050 - Maik Twelsiek&nbsp

Maik started the day with a rather disappointing swim time of 57:01, which made him the 44th male pro. Last year, he swam a 54:38, which got him a much more respectable 11th place. Mike rode a Dimond, similar to what he rode last year. The german lived up to his nickname (GCM - German Cycling Machine). He finished the bike in 10th, 4:07 off the lead, and had the fatest bike split of the day at 4:25:11! By mile 5 of the run, Maik had dropped down the 12th place. He finished the run in 3:25:15, for an overal time of 8:52:11 and 22nd place.

#052 - Fraser Cartmell&nbsp

Finished in 10:07:08, 38th pro male, 391st overall.

#053 - Daniel Bretscher&nbsp

Finished in 9:27:12, 31st pro male, 87th overall.

#054 - Miquel Tinto&nbsp

Finished in 8:45:21, 17th place.

#055 - Luke Bell&nbsp

Pulled out of the race after the bike.

#056 - Matt Chrabot&nbsp

Finished 10:07:02, 37th pro male, 388th overall

#057 - Jeremy Jurkiewcz&nbsp

Dropped out after the bike.

#058 - Justin Daerr&nbsp

Finished in 9:13:58, 28th pro male, 50th overall.

#101 - Mirinda Carfrae&nbsp

Last year's champion was the favorite coming into this race. Her come back last year from 14 minutes back after the bike to win was legendary, and thus expectations were high this year. Carfrae started the day off with a slow swim of 1:00:55, slightly slower than her 1:00:14 last year. This put her in 22nd place, almost 6 minutes off the lead. Things continued to go bad on the bike for Carfrae. She was almost 9 minutes back at mile 18, and then over 15 minutes back at mile 54. She pulled out of the race about 3 miles away from Hawi. This year, she rode a Felt IA like in prior years, with Zipp wheels.

#103 - Jodie Swallow&nbsp

Jodie Swallow had an incredile swim tdoay, and was the first woman out of the water. She finished the swim in 55:04 (slower than her 54:28 last year), which gave her over a minute head start on the bike. That was not, however, enough to hold off the other pros. By the 5 mile mark, Daniela Ryf had taken the lead, and 9 women were within 18 seconds of the lead. She stayed close to the leaders for most of the race. At 60 miles in, she was still within 12 seconds of the lead, but then started to fade. At 76 miles, she was over 1:10 back, and then at 90 miles, she was almost 4 minutes back. She had the 3rd fastest bike split with 4:58:49. For the first 3 miles, she ran a 6:46/mile pace, compared to Ryf's 6:26/mile. By mile 3, she was 7:51 behind Ryf. At mile 10, she was in 3rd place, 12:31 behind the leader. Unfortunately, she had to eventually drop out of the race after 10 miles of the run.

#104 - Caroline Steffen&nbsp

Swam a 56:16 to come out of the water in 10th place. Craoline Steffen rode a Cervelo P5 with a Swiss flag design. 43 miles into the race, she was 31 seconds back, but she started to slow, and by mile 88, she was already over 11 minutes back. She came off the bike in 11th place, with a bike split of 5:10:53. She finished the run in 3:15:27, for an overall time of 9:27:54 and 9th place.

#106 - Julia Gajer&nbsp

Dropped out after the bike.

#107 - Mary Beth Ellis&nbsp

Mary Beth Ellis, AKA the honey badger, has had an amazing career. She had an accident in 2013 in which she broke her collarbone, and has been making a slow but steady recovery. Today, Mary swam a 56:16, which made her the 11th female pro out of the water. This was slightly slower compared to her 54:56 swim last year. She was 2nd off the bike, and had the 5th fastest bike split of 4:59:29. Her normalized power for the day was 186 watts, and average cadence was 73 RPM. By mile 3 of the run, she was 8:52 off the lead. At mile 10, she was in 4th place, 13:22 behind the leader. At mile 13, Michelle Vesterby passed her for 3rd. The honey badger finished the run in 3:33:37, for an overall time of 9:33:34 and 13th place.

#108 - Gina Crawford&nbsp

Dropped out after 7 miles of the run

#109 - Meredith Kessler&nbsp

Finished in 12:26:22, for 26th pro female, and 1484th overall.

#110 - Leanda Cave&nbsp

Former world champion Leanda Cave was a favorite going in, but today was not her day. She started off well, finishing the swim in 2nd place with a time of 56:07. At the 43 mile mark of the bike, she was within seconds of the lead. But she ultimately had to drop out of the race just over 2/3 through the bike, most likely due to injuries sustained earlier in the day.

#112 - Angela Naeth&nbsp

Expectations were high for this year's North American Champ. She started off with a 1:02:28 swim that put her in 24th place among the female pros. She then had the 2nd fastest bike split of the day at 4:54:54. Unfortunately, she hobbled off the bike and dropped out of the race. Today was not her day.

#114 - Elizabeth Lyles&nbsp

Finished in 9:35:07, 14th pro female, 133rd overall.

#117 - Lucy Gossage&nbsp

Finished in 9:28:36, 10th female pro, 99th overall.

#118 - Camilla Pedersen&nbsp

Swam a 56:14 to come out of the water in 9th place. She came off the bike in 4th, and had the 4th fastest bike split at 4:59;18. By mile 3 of the run, she was 9:23 back. By mile 10, she was 15:02 back, and in 5th place. She ran a 3:25:23, finishing in 9:25:41, 8th female pro, 78th overall.

#120 - Diana Riesler&nbsp

Dropped out after the bike.

#121 - Susie Cheetham&nbsp

Finished in 9:23:50, 6th female pro, 74th overall.

#122 - Michelle Vesterby&nbsp

Swam a 56:11 to come out of the water in 5th place. Came off the bike in 5th, after a 5:00:41 bike ride. She ran a 3:17:14, for an overall time of 9:18:50 and 4th place.

#125 - Heather Jackson&nbsp

This year was Heather Jackson's Kona debut. She has been very successful at the 70.3 distance. This year she won Ironman Coeur d Alene, and Kona expectations for her were high. Today she swam a 1:07:37, putting her in 26th place. By the turn at Hawi (60 miles), she hadn't broken into the top 15, and was over 11 min back. She finished the bike in 14th, with a split of 5:04:43. She ran a 3:07:53, to finish in 9:21:45 with 5th. Not bad for a Kona rookie.

#128 - Mareen Hufe&nbsp

Finished in 10:05:01, 21st pro female, 372nd overall.

#129 - Haley Chura&nbsp

Dropped out after 31 miles on the bike.

#130 - Annabel Luxford&nbsp

Former ITU Olympic distance racer and Kona Rookie. She swam an amazing 56:08 to come out of the water in 3rd place. She came off the bike in 8th, after a 5:04:00 bike ride. At mile 15 of the run, she was in 9th place. She ran a 3:27:50, finishing in 9:32:43, 12th female pro, 112th overall.